The Republican Agenda 2021 and Forward


Good lord. Don’t know if I’ve ever read the Washington Examiner before. That’s some serious propaganda. Not saying cities don’t have problems that aren’t adequately being addressed, but people are moving because of Antifa? Seriously? I’d like to see an interview with these Antifa fleeing people.
 

Good lord. Don’t know if I’ve ever read the Washington Examiner before. That’s some serious propaganda. Not saying cities don’t have problems that aren’t adequately being addressed, but people are moving because of Antifa? Seriously? I’d like to see an interview with these Antifa fleeing people.

But let me ask you this. Could you trust the LA Times or SF Chronicle to give you an accurate picture of 1) that people are actually leaving the cities/state and 2) the actual reasons why?

Or do you think they would simply not report on it because it might make liberal policies look bad?

Edit: Got a chance to read the entire article. So my first thought is are the numbers accurate? That is easily enough to check. Census data is public so anyone with an internet connection and some time can do it. And on the surface, they don't paint a good picture for cities.

Los Angeles County, California, for example, has lost 293,000 residents since the last Census, April 1 2020, and was still losing population at the last estimate. In the same time frame, Cook County Illinois (home to Chicago) lost 166,000. New York City's five boroughs lost a combined 471,000. San Francisco has lost 66,000 people, or 7.6% of its population. Philadelphia County Pennsylvania lost 37,000.

Can anyone dispute these numbers? I did find this line interesting:

In spite of what Democrats tell you, people looking for a better place to live aren't put off by the fact that this state has open carry of firearms, a near-total abortion ban, and execution by firing squad.

I do think execution by firing squad a bit much, but the other two wouldn't bother me. While they didn't give any specific numbers, the map does show that redder areas are gaining population. So if those moving in continue to vote Blue, that is good news for the Dems. But if they get Red Pilled then that is bad news for the Dems. (And I don't care what the FBI says about the term "Red Pilled".

Second, there was one mention of Antifa:

most people find it a heck of a lot better than having to live amid filthy homeless encampments and Antifa violence and intimidation in Portland, Los Angeles or San Francisco.

So yeah it's in there, but not a reason for people leaving Chicago, NY or Philly. The article also noted the main reasons were:

High taxes, poor services, and declining public safety are making many big cities hostile places to live in.

I know I would not want to live in a big city, not even one run by the GOP. I will be less than 2 hours away from Phoenix and that is close enough.
 
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Maybe dirt poor people in backward, right-run states aren't losing population because the people can barely get by, let alone afford to move.

I can well afford to move my from my "backwards ass right-wing state". In fact, moving to a house that is easily 50% more expensive than the one I am in now. And in a purple state.
 
But let me ask you this. Could you trust the LA Times or SF Chronicle to give you an accurate picture of 1) that people are actually leaving the cities/state and 2) the actual reasons why?

Or do you think they would simply not report on it because it might make liberal policies look bad?

While both newspapers have covered the exodus from California over the years, I don't recall them sugar-coating the numbers or reasons. It's about cost of and quality of living vs. what other states have to offer.

San Francisco in particular is an excellent example due to massive gentrification and skyrocketing rents and home prices over the last 15 years for the most part, along with rising prices in general. Street crime and tech-bro culture just adds to that.

A dozen or so years ago I had around 40-50 photographer/artist friends in SF. Today it's around three or four.

In terms of news coverage, the LA Times is at the top of my list for California - I pay for a digital subscription. It's outstanding. Regarding the SF Chronicle.... eh, its glory days were 20+ years ago. They were slow to adapt to digital, and pretty much stopped doing any sort of meaty investigative reporting. I understand the Sacramento Bee is pretty good, though I've never checked it out.

Even though I'm in the SF Bay Area, I read the LA Times everyday for California news. The SF Chronicle, maybe once or twice a month; though they accurately covered the exodus from the SF Bay Area many times.
 
While both newspapers have covered the exodus from California over the years, I don't recall them sugar-coating the numbers or reasons. It's about cost of and quality of living vs. what other states have to offer.

At what point do you think it will become an issue where fewer & fewer people are paying for services? I have to think they are close to the upper limit of what they can tax.
 
At what point do you think it will become an issue where fewer & fewer people are paying for services? I have to think they are close to the upper limit of what they can tax.

Living further down the SF peninsula, I don't have a good feeling for that.

I do know the SFPD has a huge staffing shortage right now that's been festering for a long time and not getting solved. Even by offering bonuses and decent pay (around $85k/yr for a fresh recruit, around $140k/yr for ten years of service - likely more for those who've advanced in rank). Last I heard they were down 850 sworn officers at the current level of around 1,500. Still, the handful of SFPD friends I have/had don't live in SF due to the costs - it's more affordable across the bay. The result is slower response times to service calls.

Regarding taxing for services... I guess that means the rich folk who live there will need to open their wallets more.
 
But let me ask you this. Could you trust the LA Times or SF Chronicle to give you an accurate picture of 1) that people are actually leaving the cities/state and 2) the actual reasons why?

Or do you think they would simply not report on it because it might make liberal policies look bad?

Edit: Got a chance to read the entire article. So my first thought is are the numbers accurate? That is easily enough to check. Census data is public so anyone with an internet connection and some time can do it. And on the surface, they don't paint a good picture for cities.



Can anyone dispute these numbers? I did find this line interesting:



I do think execution by firing squad a bit much, but the other two wouldn't bother me. While they didn't give any specific numbers, the map does show that redder areas are gaining population. So if those moving in continue to vote Blue, that is good news for the Dems. But if they get Red Pilled then that is bad news for the Dems. (And I don't care what the FBI says about the term "Red Pilled".

Second, there was one mention of Antifa:



So yeah it's in there, but not a reason for people leaving Chicago, NY or Philly. The article also noted the main reasons were:



I know I would not want to live in a big city, not even one run by the GOP. I will be less than 2 hours away from Phoenix and that is close enough.


I won't dispute the numbers. I believe the state even lost a rep because of the exodus. I also won't dispute crime and homelessness being an issue, but I think overwhelmingly its cost of living. You could slot high taxes in there, but I don't think a lot of people have problems with the high taxes as much as what they are or aren't getting for those taxes like how those high taxes aren't helping to alleviate the homeless issue.

I think another thing that skews the reality is people who live in CA cities tend to get paid well and therefor have the option to leave. There's plenty of other areas in the country that have poverty and crime issues but those people don't have the money to leave even if they wanted to.
 
I won't dispute the numbers. I believe the state even lost a rep because of the exodus.

Might not have been because of that. We lost a Rep and our population was relatively stable. Sometimes it is because other places grew.


I also won't dispute crime and homelessness being an issue, but I think overwhelmingly its cost of living. You could slot high taxes in there, but I don't think a lot of people have problems with the high taxes as much as what they are or aren't getting for those taxes like how those high taxes aren't helping to alleviate the homeless issue.

What do people get for their taxes? Compared to FL for example. What does 13% get you over 0%. Why can FL or TX or NV offer similar services while not having a state income tax. All 4 of those states are similar in that get a lot of visitors so they can offload some taxes on them. But seriously, what do the taxes get you?
 
Might not have been because of that. We lost a Rep and our population was relatively stable. Sometimes it is because other places grew.




What do people get for their taxes? Compared to FL for example. What does 13% get you over 0%. Why can FL or TX or NV offer similar services while not having a state income tax. All 4 of those states are similar in that get a lot of visitors so they can offload some taxes on them. But seriously, what do the taxes get you?
Now these are fair questions and should be discussed, I think it really depends on a lot of local factors but there's definitely appeal to FL or TX when it comes to taxes.

I think if Republicans stuck to this line it would likely help the party but both the war on trans and abortion are dragging them down, they're saying it's likely going to drive the 2024 election as well with highly motivated Democrats.

IMO there's middle ground to be had here with the right agenda.
 
Now these are fair questions and should be discussed, I think it really depends on a lot of local factors but there's definitely appeal to FL or TX when it comes to taxes.

I think if Republicans stuck to this line it would likely help the party but both the war on trans and abortion are dragging them down, they're saying it's likely going to drive the 2024 election as well with highly motivated Democrats.

IMO there's middle ground to be had here with the right agenda.
True. The Trump tax “cut” raised my taxes by nearly $20k a year. Good reason to vote for Democrats.
 
What do people get for their taxes? Compared to FL for example. What does 13% get you over 0%. Why can FL or TX or NV offer similar services while not having a state income tax. All 4 of those states are similar in that get a lot of visitors so they can offload some taxes on them. But seriously, what do the taxes get you?

Regarding FL/TX/NV... who pays for public education/schools, roads/highways development and maintenance, disaster relief, parks, libraries, police/fire/EMT-paramedic services, local/state infrastructure, local/state government (administrators/workers/politicians), etc?
 
Might not have been because of that. We lost a Rep and our population was relatively stable. Sometimes it is because other places grew.




What do people get for their taxes? Compared to FL for example. What does 13% get you over 0%. Why can FL or TX or NV offer similar services while not having a state income tax. All 4 of those states are similar in that get a lot of visitors so they can offload some taxes on them. But seriously, what do the taxes get you?
You’ll pay more for property tax in a no-tax state. We moved from Minnesota to Texas to a house with less than half the value of the Minnesota property and our property tax were the same. It’s reported that States with no income tax spend less on infrastructure and education and have much less for public education, social spending, helping those in need, such as a State medical insurance for low income families, and guaranteed medical coverage for all children if they come from low income families. I don’t know if you think that is a worthy cause or not.

Another aspects is that all of the doner States as far as paying taxes into the system are States in the North, and the user States who tend to reject Federal authority but are glad to take Federal money are Southern States.

If you are wondering how I ended in a no-income tax state, we moved to Texas because after a career of moving around the country and away from family, my wife wanted to be closer to her family as I started retirement. When I was working if I don’t consider higher sales tax, I saved about $11k per year in State income taxes by not living in Minnesota.

One more observation, because many companies are flocking to Texas to get lower taxes, Texas has a huge budget surplus. This in itself is the problem with Capitolism and Corporatism, and the way humans think, low cost no matter what the long term price is woth it for short term gains. It’s all about the $$$, not many think about any other aspect.

I can give you an easy example. In Minnesota if you are a builder who wants to build a neighborhood, the State requires more of you such as infrastructure funding, roads and lights and they consider aspects such as schools which I believe may add to the cost of a new house on the builders end. Consequently building is slower but steadier, more controlled.

By contrast in Texas all builders have green lights build as much as you want. Historically it has caused housing price busts, too much building depresses the prices of existing houses. My brother in law in Austin a decade or 2 a ago walked away from their house because they could not sell it. But now Austin is booming, but stand by, it is the building policy that promotes the rollercoaster in prices.

Up in the Fort Worth area out in the suburbs you have miles and miles of subdivisions built on nothing more than farm roads with 4 way stop signs and huge lines of cars trying to navigate the lack of infastructure. Our friends lived there and what a freaking nightmare to live and navigate by car there. I suppose enevtually the State will get around to doing the infastructure improvements.


States without a personal income tax might ask residents and visitors to pay more sales tax on groceries, clothes and other goods, as is the case in Washington. A 6.5 percent state sales tax combined with city and or municipal sales tax rates result in a sales tax of up to 9.29 percent. The Tax Foundation puts the state’s total tax burden at 9.8 percent, making it the 24th most affordable state, the least of any state with no income tax and behind other areas that do charge the levy, including Indiana, South Carolina, Utah and Missouri.

Pump prices in Washington are also among the highest in the country, in part because of a high gasoline tax. As of 2021, Washington charges 49.4 cents per gallon in gas taxes and fees, the third-highest in the country behind Pennsylvania and California, according to The Energy Information Administration.

Florida relies on sales taxes and has the 24th most affordable combined state and average local sales tax rate in the nation, while its property taxes are above the national average, according to the Tax Foundation. Tennessee has the highest average combined sales and local tax rates in the country, at 9.55 percent.
 
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True. The Trump tax “cut” raised my taxes by nearly $20k a year. Good reason to vote for Democrats.

But now you have put the Democrats in the position of cutting taxes for "the rich".

Regarding FL/TX/NV... who pays for public education/schools, roads/highways development and maintenance, disaster relief, parks, libraries, police/fire/EMT-paramedic services, local/state infrastructure, local/state government (administrators/workers/politicians), etc?

Well they seem to have them, so someone does. Or they just budget better.
 
True. The Trump tax “cut” raised my taxes by nearly $20k a year. Good reason to vote for Democrats.

Same here, it was mostly the inability to write things off that really turned it around for us.
This is the GOP big gotcha for Dummies. Hey suckers we are going to give you a hundred off tax cut, just don’t pay attention to the millions from the fat cats that are going to disappear too with subsequent cuts in every program the State has, and causing all manner of fees to average citizens to sky rocket. Fees, no we don’t call them taxes, which makes it acceptable. Have you noticed that college tuition has sky rocketed? I’m not sure , but my guess it has something to do with tax cuts… :unsure:

The GOP has been doing this for DECADES, and I think we are FUCKED.
  • Starts with a balanced budget.
  • Cut taxes, but not spending.
  • DEFICITS CLIMB
  • Result? We went from basically zero debt in the 1970s to $32 TRILLION in debt today. Do you know how much debt that is? A mind boggling amount that was accomplished with the simple dishonest strategy of offering to lower people’s taxes. The GOP’s strategy is that we can now claim that there is no money for social programs, they are unaffordable and argue to get rid of them. :oops:
 
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